Charlotte, NC vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Charlotte to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,321 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Charlotte vs Salt Lake City at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Charlotte, NC, you'd need about $99,817 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$183).
Livability — Charlotte, NC: 66 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,561 sqft in Charlotte vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($195 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charlotte, NC | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,880 | $19,692 | −$1,188 |
| Groceries | $4,834 | $4,736 | −$98 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,450 | +$320 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,440 | −$312 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,200 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $9,729 | +$989 |
| Total | $41,336 | $40,246 | −$1,089 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charlotte, NC | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.71% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.0% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $390,321 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.1× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |